A comprehensive guide to the World Cup, including Chelsea's struggles, Xabi Alonso's role, and the future of Jackson and Liam Delap.
Our seven-day guide to the World Cup is live. 48 teams, 104 games, 1104 players – we’ve got everything you need to know. It has been a completely different story for the Blues this term, however, with Chelsea slumping to a tenth-place finish in the Premier League .
It remains to be seen what Alonso decides to do with several talented but underperforming Chelsea players. But Merson has warned the new manager that Liam Delap is ‘out of his depth’. But Delap endured a miserable first season in west London, playing back-up to fellow summer signing Joao Pedro and scoring just two goals in all competitions.
The arrival of Delap was one of the reasons Chelsea sanctioned Jackson’s move to Bayern Munich, with the German champions paying £14m to sign the Senegal striker on a season-long loan. They agreed to pay a further £56m to sign Jackson permanently if certain conditions were met but the 24-year-old did not feature enough for those to be activated.
Merson believes that would be a mistake, however, and says Alonso should keep Jackson at Chelsea given not only his ability but productive relationship with Cole Palmer.
‘They need a manager who the fan’s are grateful that he’s managing Chelsea and they’ve got that now with Xabi Alonso because he’s a top manager. Wayne Rooney hails Arsenal star as the ‘signing of the season’ after title win.
‘I’ve said it before, Palmer made Jackson and Jackson made Palmer. Palmer’s not on that plane because Jackson’s not been there.
‘Liam Delap is out of his depth and Joao Pedro wants to come this way and it closes everything down, he’s more of a No. 10 really. ‘A back-three would suit Chelsea because they’ve got Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto who can bomb forward and they’ve got two holding midfielders in Caicedo and Enzo.
Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Phil HaighJosh Kroenke confirms Arsenal transfer plan after winning Premier League titlePremier League prize money for each position: How much Arsenal earn for winning titl
World Cup Chelsea Alonso Jackson Liam Delap Cole Palmer Premier League Back-Three Reece James Marc Cucurella Malo Gusto Caicedo Enzo Joao Pedro Phil Haigh Josh Kroenke Premier League Prize Money Arsenal Transfer Plan
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